Starting Diesels with no heater plugs

On or around Sun, 20 Nov 2005 22:40:52 +0000 (UTC), "Andrew Mawson" enlightened us thusly:

avoid the latter if you can ('s not always possible) since it's not good for the engine. You can tell this by the god-awful clatter it makes.

If you do use it, apply to the intake in brief short squirts while cranking, just enough to get it to fire. overdoing it really does hammer the engine.

My old one is from the flower power era! I think the newest is 1975 and it was cold on it today.

AJH

Agreed so only in am emergency. As you say over do it and the ether detonates as a premixed charge, this knocks the ring and piston lands about, this causes loss of compression and hence more ether is used. Classic addiction.

The other thing to consider is that if the excess fuel button has been used and a start failed then there is a lot of fuel in the cylinder. I always spin the engine over with the stop control out if I think this has happened.

AJH

Mind it doesn't become addicted though!

On or around Sun, 20 Nov 2005 17:48:35 +0000, PDannyD enlightened us thusly:

that's where people go wrong with Easy-start, though, they blast loads of it into the manifold, crank the engine and it then goes "CLATTERCLATTERCLATTERCLATTERCLATTERbruummmm". (OWTTE). All that clattering is your engine being knackered.

best way to use the stuff is to start cranking the engine and then fire off a small (about half a second) squirt ideally direct into the inlet, but through the air cleaner will do. If it doesn't catch, try a 1s burst. Use as little of the stuff as you can get away with and still actually get it started.

but the best bet is to work out how it's supposed to be started. The perkins things with the preheater in the manifold require the right technique - I used to crank the engine for about 5 seconds, then turn the key to half-cocked which energises the preheater. Wait 'til you hear the "woomp" of the diesel in the inlet manifold igniting and then crank the engine, and generally it'll start.

the preheater in the manifold (if it's that type) is fed with diesel from the injector leak-off pipe, and I used to think that cranking it a bit first made sure there was some diesel there to supply it.

Whatever you do, do not use a combination of ether and thermostart unit.

Huw

On or around Mon, 21 Nov 2005 22:01:22 -0000, "Huw" enlightened us thusly:

hmmm. I imagine that could be exciting.

oh and another "don't do", while we're on the subject...

Easy-start in a hand-cranked engine. Bloody near broke me wrists.